Regardless of classification, Villa Maria Academy has shown several times already in 2015 that it could be the class of all classes in western Pennsylvania.
Ranked first in PTXC's Preseason Poll in Class AA and the defending PIAA champions there, the Victors apparently were not concerned about enrollment divisions at last Saturday's annual Red, White & Blue Classic in Pittsburgh. Therese Brown's squad played up and thoroughly dominated the AAA field at Schenley Park, finishing with a miniscule 32 points and besting the runner-up by almost 100 points.
"In all honesty, I knew we had a strong team this year, but their incredible performance was not something I expected so early on," Brown said of claiming the big school division over such AAA powers as Mt. Lebanon, Seneca Valley and North Allegheny along with always competitive Morgantown of West Virginia.
"This is a special group of girls who are very close to each other and encourage each other every day. There is great mutual respect from our fastest to slowest runner -- all 26 girls."
The Victors left little doubt as to the outcome in their first big meet of the season, with senior Claire Brown third overall and at the lead of a 1-5 pack that covered just 29.8 seconds. Such a start could be a surprise to many across the state since Villa Maria lost 2 of its top five and three of the seven who raced their way to top team honors in AA last November in Hershey.
"They came out of camp feeling very confident this year," Therese Brown said of the official start of practice. "The girls share a keen awareness of what it will take to be a great team and to prepare to defend their state title come November. I think they have a sense of responsibility to continue building this XC tradition at Villa."
Continued strong contributions from a senior (Bernadette Prichard) and a sophomore (Hannah Ricci) likely will be critical to the Victors' success as the season progresses.
Prichard, who quickly made a name for herself in a freshman season that included multiple invitational wins, a District 10 title and a 12th at Hershey, is back on the team full time after playing tennis for Villa Maria last fall. The senior was 13th overall and the team's No. 5 at Red, White & Blue, while Hannah Ricci is healthy and was fourth overall in finishing between the head coach's daughters, Claire and Grace, and ahead of her sister Melissa in seventh.
"This speaks volumes about our depth," Therese Brown said of her squad, which put all seven runners in the top 10 of a season-opening victory at home September 8 against North Allegheny. "It is also exciting that our next two runners, Lexi Seifert and Carly Lazar, are new to our program, and that our JV team, made up primarily of freshmen, ran so well."
The Victors' performance at Schenley Park also came without the guidance and direction of their coach, who was attending a team reunion last Saturday at Dartmouth. Villa Maria track coach Mike Palmer stepped in for Brown and was equally impressed with the effort.
"Coach Brown talked to them, and she had them so ready to go for today," Palmer said. "It was just a pleasure for me to step in and just oversee and make sure everything was ready to go.
"I don't think it was something we were expecting to see. We knew she had them ready to go, and we were excited for this race. We are very proud of what they did today."
Therese Brown will have a chance to see what her squad can do in a big meet situation tomorrow (September 19) in the Slippery Rock University Invitational at Cooper's Lake. The meet also will serve as the invitational debut for Mt. Lebanon standout Kelsey Potts, who missed the first two weekends of the season for a recruiting visit and to take the ACT.